Concentrator table



5mm 211. 11927., A H STEBBINS CONCENTRATOR TABLE Filed June 15. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l /v I/EN TQ R A T 70/? NEY @//br JF/ m MM, a mm mm saw x mm" nm N ME- CON GEN TRATOR TABLE Filed June //\/VENTOR. 44 A HM M ATTORNEY "1m 21 1%2? 9 A. H. STEBBENS CONCENTRATOR TABLE Filed June 15. 1926 3 Sheils she fii 3 M M! I M M V 4w w WW i m A Patented June 21, 1 927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE-.

ALBERT n. STEBBINS, or LOS ANoELEs, CALIFORNIA.

ooneniv'rimron TABLE.

Application filed June 15, 1926. Serial No. 116,100. 6

. operating rifiies and scrapers the separating action of the materials is difficult to control, and the tendency of the materials to clog seriously interferes with the proper opera tion of the concentrators. p

An important feature of the present invention therefore resides in'a concentrator deck employing cooperating riflles and scrapers, but in the present construction the scrapers are supported in spaced relation to the rifiies so that a free and unobstructed passage is provided between the riiiles and scrapers in which. the materials may flow. As a result of this construction clogging of the materials is prevented and a smoother and better se aration is secured.

The provi ing. of this space between the riffles and scrapers takes care of the condition commonly met with in the separation of materials in an extremely satisfactory manner, in that in the ordinary separating operation some of the concentrates Wlll work downwardl work upwardly into engagement with the scrapers, and these concentrates and tailings that are the first to separate out will be' directed toward the opposite sides of the deck by the riflles and scrapers. A large portion of the materials being treated, however, will usually separate more slowly and, in accordance with the present invention, these are the materials that occupy the un obstructed space between the riffles and scrapers, and as the materials in this space travel lengthwise of the deck they are given ample opportunity to work downwardly into engagement with the rifiies, or upwardly into engagement with the scrapers, depending upon their size, shape and specific gravities.

quickly into engagement withthe rifiles w ile some of the tailings will soon type of scraper blade; and

Another important feature of the present invention resides in the arrangement whereby the deck surface is given a transverse slope downwardly toward the concentrate wall, and as a result the concentrates travel along the riffles in a down-hill direction toward the. concentrate wall while the tailings are directed across the deck by the scraper toward the upper side of the deck. It will therefore be seen that in the present construction the transverse slope given to the deck helps to advance the concentrates along the riffles toward the concentrate wall.

Other features of the invention and novel combination of parts in addition to the above will be hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention. Inthe drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a concentrator table provided with a deck constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the deck operating cable, the sheaves associated with the cable being shown in skeleton lines;

good practical forms of Fig. 3 on an-enlarged scale is a sectional perspective view of Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 4 on a small scale is a sectional view through the deck;

5 is a plan view of the deck;

the deck shown in transverse Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but shows a modified construction of the deck surface; Fig. 7 is a side view of a plane scraper blade;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a saw-tooth Fig. 9 is a side view of the scraper blade of Fig. 8.

The concentrator de'ck forming the subject matter of the present invention may be supported by any suitable means for vibra' tory movement in the direction of its length, and the deck is preferably supported so that it slopes-downwardly in the direction of itsIength to thereby promote travel of the materials lengthwise of the deck towards its discharge end. This, however, is not essential since, if the movement imparted to the deck is sufficiently energetic, the longitudinal slope of the deck ma be omitted. In the construction shown, t e frame for supporting the deck for vibratory movement the materials upon is formed of the longitudinally extending rails 10 that are secured to the uprights 11, and the opposite sides of the frame are connected by the transversely extending beams 12, and it will be noted that the uprights 11 at the left-hand end of the frame are taller than the uprights at the right-hand end of the frame, whereby the upper rails 10 are caused to slope downwardly towards the right-hand end of the frame. This constructlon is desirable as it serves to support the deck at an inclination in the direction of its length.

Upon the supporting frame just described is mounted the carriage 13 which is formed of channel irons lat extending lengthwise of the deck and which are secured in spaced relation to each other by the transversely extending braces 15. The carriage is supported for movement in the direction of its length by any suitable means such as the balls or rollers 16 that are confined between the bearing blocks 17 secured to the supporting frame, and the bearing blocks 18 secured to the under face of the carriage.

The deck casing is preferably supported by the carriage 13 so that the deck surface slopes transversely as best shown in Fig. 3, and the slope of the deck in the present construction is in a direction to cause the concentrates to flow downhill toward the lower side of the deck. This, however, is not an essential feature in all embodiments of the invention, because, by providing rifiies to direct the concentrates toward one side of the deck and scrapers to direct the tailings toward the other side of the deck, the desired separation of the materials may be effected without sloping .the deck transyersely, and in some cases the slope of the deck may be in the opposite direction so that the concentrates are caused to travel toward the upper side of the deck. In the construe-- tion shown the deck is mounted upon the carriage 13 so that the transverse inclination of the deck may be varied as desired, and to this end one side of the deck is pivotally secured to a channel iron 1 1 of the carriage by the hinges 19, and the opposite side of the deck is supported in spaced relation to the car riage 13 by the bolts 20.

In most constructions it will be desirable to employ air to promote the separation of the deck surface 21, and the deck casing is therefore shown as having the air chamber 22 formed below the deck surface, to which air may be supplied by the hood 23 at the-lefthand end of the deck. The air chamber 22 is shown as divided longitudinally by the partitions 24 which are desirable asthey prevent the air from moving transversely of the deck from one side to the other. The deck surface 21 is provided with the apertures 25 which permit the air to pass upwardly through the maneaaree treated are delivered to the deck surface by the hopper 26 and the rate at which the materials are fed to the deck surface by the hopper may be controlled by adjusting the sliding gate 27. The construction so far described forms no essential part of the present invention and may be varied as desired...

As above stated, an important feature of the present invention resides in the construction whereby ,riflies on the deck surface are employed to direct the concentrators in one direction and scrapers which are supported above and in spaced relationto the rifiies are provided to direct the tailings in a difierent direction, the arrangement being such that an unobstructed space is provided between the riffies and scrapers in which the materials may travel lengthwise of the deck.

In the present case it is important to note that the riflies 28 extend over the deck surface in a direction to direct the concentrates towards the lower side of the deck and consequently theinfluence of gravity helps to promote the travel of the concentrates towards their discharge trough '29. The scrapers 30, which are supported above and in spaced relation to the rifiies 25 extend diagonally of the deck surface, and are constructed and arranged to direct the tailings towards the upper side of the deck to thereby discharge them into the tailing receiving trough 31.

Various means might be provided forsupporting the scrapers 30 above the rifiies 28, and this is accomplished in the construction shown by providing each scraper 30 with laterally extending lips 32 in which bolt holes are formed; These lips are secured to the upper channel irons 33 extending longitudinally of the deck casing by the bolts 34. The scrapers 30 may be further supported-by bolting an intermediate portion of each scraper to a centrally disposed bar 35 extending longitudinally of the deck and which bar may be connected to the deck surface 21 and floor plate 36 of the deck by the posts 37 this construction being desirable as it strengthens and st-iffens the entire deck structure. The lower ends of the posts 37. may be screwed into a longitudinally extending-bar 38 to which the floor plate 36 is fastened, and the upper ends of the'posts 37 are secured to the bar 35 by the nuts 39. In the construction shown it will be noted that the rifiies 28'extend diagonally of the deck surface inone direction and the scrapers 30 extend diagonally of the deck surface in an opposite direction, so that the riflies direct the concentrates towards the lower side of the deck, and the scrapers direct the tailings towards the upper side of the deck.

The unobstructed space provided between the riflies and the scrapersis highly desirwise of the deck for the materials that are comparatively slow in separating. Some of the concentrates will quickly work downwardly towards the deck surface to be guided transversely of the deck by the riflifs, and some of the tailings will work upWar ly rapidly into engagement with the scrapers which will direct tliern towards the tailingreceiving trough 31, but a large portion of the materials will separate out more or less slowly, and the space between the ri'flles and scrapers affords these materials an opportunity to flow lengthwise of the deck in an uninterrupted stream, and while traveling in this space they will gradually work'either downwardly towards the riflies, or upwardly towards the scrapers under the influence of the air and deck movement. As a result of this construction danger of the materials clogging at the points where the scrapers cross the riilles is avoided; furthermore, the capacity of the deck is considerably increased and the separatin operation is effected in an extremely satisfactory manner.

It may be desirable to provide means whereby the distance between the lower ends of the scrapers and the riflles may be varied, and to this end, in the construction shown, each scraper 30'is provided with an adjustable blade 40 which is secured to its scraper by bolts 41 that extend through holes in the blades and through elongated holes 42 in the scrapers, and each of these bolts may be provided with a winged nut 43. If desired some or all of the blades 40 may have their lower ends bent laterally to form a lip 44 (see Fig. 3). In many cases it will be found desirable to so adjust the blades 40 that the space between the scrapers and rifiies is gradually decreased as the materials travel lengthwise of the deck, the arrangement preferably being such that each scraper blade40 will cut deeper into the materials than the scrapers which precede it If relatively large coarse materials .are

being treated upon the deck it may be desirable to substitute the saw tooth type of scraper blade shown in Figs. 8 and 9 in place of the plain scraper blades of Fig. 7. The blade shown in Figs. 8 and 9, it will be noted, is provided with a series of stepped port-ions 45, each of which has its lower scraping edge formed so that it tapers upwardly from the deck surface in the direction in which the materials travel along t1e scraper blade. The arrangement is .such that if a large piece of material tends to clog between the lowermost point 46 of a stepped portion 45 and the rifile lying below it. such particle will simply work along the beveled edge of the scraper section until it reaches a portion thereof which is sufficiently spaced above the riffle to permit the large particle to escape therebetween. If,

however, the large particle cannot pass under the tapered edge of a portion 45 it will simply move along the scraper from one stepped portion 45 to another, and in order to prevent such large partlcle from strlking against the lowermost point 46 of the different sections 45, these sections are arrangedv in lateral stepped relation, as best shownin Fig. 8. As a result of this construction, a

large piece of material traveling along one section 45 will be deflected laterally sulficiently toclear the front vertical edge of the next portion 45.

present invention is preferably made relatively long in order to give the materials traveling in the unobstructed space between the riflles and scrapers ample time to separate out of this space by moving downwardly into engagement with the rlffles or by working upwardly into engagement with The deck embodying the features of the the scrapers. Both the riflies and scrapers deck surface, will serve to direct the concentrates towards the discharge trough 29 extending along the lower side of the 'deck surface.

The apertures 25 formed in the deck surface may extend throughout the entire deck surface, or through only a portion thereof as desired, and in the present case it will be apparent from Fig. 5 that the apertures have been omitted from adjacent the discharge end of the deck, and also from the portions of the deck lying adjacent the material receiving troughs 29 and 31. The apertures should be relatively large 1n size near the feed hopper 26 and may gradually decrease in size as they a proach the dis charge end of the deck. 11 some cases the use of air may be omitted, and likewise the apertures, but this would necessitate the materials being previously treated to remove therefrom the dust and fine "particles. The lower side of the, deck is provided with an upright wall 49 against which the concen trates are directed by the riffies 28, and this wall may be provided with openings at spaced intervals through which the materials may pass into the trough 29, and these openings are controlled by sliding gates 49. The deck may be provided with a cover 50 ex tending over a portion of or over the entlre together with the transverse slope of the i slopegiven to the deck.

deck surface, as found desirable; but in many constructions it maybe found advisable to omit this cover in order that the separating operation of the deck may be readily observed. The materials that escape from the discharge end of the concentrator deck may enter one or more hoppers positioned at this end of the deck to receive them.

Various means might be employed for imparting the desired vibratory movement to the deck and this movement may be a progressive vibratorymovement, or a plainreciprocatory movement, as desired, dependent largely upon the amount of longitudinal The for imparting vibratory movement to the deck and deck supporting carriage 13 consists of the cable 51 an intermediate portion of which is- .rigidly secured to the transversely extending braces 52 of the carriage by the clamps 53 of any siiitable construction.

Near the opposite. ends of the deck supporting frame are mountedthe idle sheaves 54 which are rotatably supported by the transversely extending shafts 55 that are supported by the main frame. These idle sheaves are grooved and the portion of the cable extending in a left-hand direction from the clamps 43 is looped about one sheave 54 while the portion of this cable extending in a-right-hand direction from the clamps is looped about the other sheave 5d. The end portions of the cable 51 are led inwardly from the spaced sheaves 54: about the opposite sides of the sheave 56 which is provided with the two cable receivin grooves shown, and this sheave is-mount'e upon an eccentric 57 that is rigidly secured to and is driven by the power shaft 58. One end of the cable 51 is anchored to the machine frame by a bolt 59 which may be ad justed to vary the effective length of the cable, and the other end of this cable is secured to a coiled spring 60 which is con fined between a transversely extending brace 61 of the machine frame and a nut 62secured to the end of the cable. The arran ement is such that when the power shaft 58 is rotated, the eccentric 57 will be rotated with in the sheave 56 to thereb move this sheave back and forth so that 1t will tension the portion of the cable looped about one side of the sheave while it slacks off the portion of the cable looped about the opposite side of this sheave. This will serve to pull the deck back and forth, and if the tension of the spring 60 is properly adjusted, the movement imparted to the deck will be more or less of a progressive nature.

What is claimed is:

1 A concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a deck casing mounted upon the frame for vibratory movement and having a deck surface, rifles means shown aeaaaee extending diagonally over the deck surface, means for vibrating the deck to reflect a movement stratification of the materials upon the deck surface, and scrapers extending across the rifles and supported in spaced relation to the rifles to provide an unobstructed clearance space therebetween in which an intermediate stratum of the materials flows while the concentrates are directed by the rifles to one side of the deck and the tailings are directed by the scrapers to the other side of the deck.

2. A concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a deck casing mounted upon the frame for vibratory movement and having a deck surface, ries extending diagonally over the deck surface, means for vibrating the deck to efiect a movement stratification of the materials upon the deck surface, scraper supporting beams mounted above and in spaced relation to the deck surface, and scrapers suspended from said beams and supported thereby in spaced relation to the rifles to provide an unobstructed clearance space between the rifles and scrapers in which an intermediate stratum of the materials may travel.

3. A concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a deck casing mounted upon the frame for vibratory movement and having a deck surface that is supported at a transverse inclination, rifles extending diagonally over the deck surface in a direction to direct the concentrates toward the lower side of the deck, means for vibrating the deck to efi'ect a movement stratification of the materials upon the deck surface, and scrapers extending across the rifles in a direction to 'direct the tailings toward the upper side of the deck and disposed in spaced relation to the rifles to provide an unobstructed clearance space tberebetween in which an intermediate stratum of the materials may travel 4:. A concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a deck casing mounted upon the frame for vibratory movement andhaving a concentrate receiving trough extending along one side of the deck and a tailings receiving trough extending along the other side of the deck, rifles extending diagonally ,over the deck surface, means for vibrating the deck to effect a movement stratification of the materials upon the deck surface, and scrapers extendin across the rifles and supported in spaced relation to the rifles to provide an unobstructed clearance space therebetween in which an intermediate stratum of the materials fiows while the concentrates are directed into one trough by the rifles and the tailings are directed into the other trough by the scrapers.

5. A concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting flame, a deck casing mounted upon the frame for vibratory movement and avin a deck surface, rifles extending diagonsfily over the deck surface, means for vibrating the deck to effect a movement Stratification of the materials upon the deck surface, scrapers extending across the rifles and supported in spaced relation to the rifles, and scraper blades adjustably securedto the scrapers and supported thereby in spaced relation to the rifles to provide a free and unobstructed space between the rifles and blades in which an intermediate portion of the materials may travel.

6. A concentrator table comprising, in combination, a supporting frame, a deck casing mounted upon the frame and having a deck surface, rifles extending over the deck surface to direct the concentrates in one direction, scrapers mounted above vand in spaced relation to the rifles to direct the tailings over the deck surface in a different direction, and means for supporting the scrapers decreasing distances from the rifles in the order in which they are arranged so that each scraper cuts deeper into the mateand mounted in spaced relation thereto to provide a clearance space between the rifles and scrapers, and'the scrapers having their lower edges constructed to form series of tapered clearance notches along the scrapers.

8. A concentrator table comprising, in combination, a supporting frame, a deck casing mounted upon the frame and having a deck surface, rifles extending overthe deck surface, scrapers suspended over the rifles and supported. inspaced relation to the riffles, and at least'one of the scrapers having its lower edge bent laterally to form an inclined material engaging lip.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ALBERT H. STEBBIN S. 

